M1 New road signs - complete waste of money?

delly

As a daily M1 driver, I had noticed over the last month or two some construction work going on at different points along the road. What has now started to appear is the 4 massive steel poles needed to hold the distance signs like 'Dublin 40 kms' etc.

Whats bizarre is tho' that some of these are being built right beside existing signs. I have noticed a new one already go up with exactly the same information as the same one 10 metres away, with the only difference being a small green E-01 heading at the top.

This whole exercise must be costing hundreds of thousands of euro, what with the amount of work involved in mounting a sign with foundations for the poles etc. I can't see why the existing signs can't be modified to suit whatever they want to have on the new signs.

Taxpayers money eh, sure its meant to be pissed away :mad:

I don't use that road, so only guessing/


They intend to remove the old signs after construction of the new ones are complete, it could be that the old posts are now considered unsafe/ poorly positioned.

Are the new ones a different distance from the main carriageway?

delly

Exactly the same distance. There is one that you could actually touch both new and old poles alike.

In the case of being unsafe, this part of the M1 is only about 4 years old, so time wise they are nowhere near there life expectancy.

MDTyKe

Are the signs any different apart from the E-01 sign? You'd think they could patch them, if that were the case.

We've also got the new "Exit" signs - although I like those.


Matt

delly

If there is any other difference, then it has to be something less obvious such as font etc., as I sure as hell can't see it.

It just screams to me of a made up job to use budget money up or to give unnecessary business to contractors.

Steve

Is this one of the signs that was causing a lot of complaints about being misleading?

i.e. the information about the next exit was shown over the left lane and the 'ahead' information was over the right lane - causing drivers unfamiliar with the road to stay in the right lane and block it?

I'm not familiar with the M1 but there were plenty of examples on the Naas DC.

delly

No, these are on the side of the road, not overhead.

Those ones you refer to tho' are another example of great planning :rolleyes:.

icdg

SteveC wrote: »

Is this one of the signs that was causing a lot of complaints about being misleading?

i.e. the information about the next exit was shown over the left lane and the 'ahead' information was over the right lane - causing drivers unfamiliar with the road to stay in the right lane and block it?

I'm not familiar with the M1 but there were plenty of examples on the Naas DC.

Not quite.

Up until 2005 our motorway signage was more-or-less identical to that used in the UK - a mini-map sign at 2km detailing the main place to reached by the exit and a road number, a full map ADS at 1km detailing the motorway number, its terminal and an intermediate destination, and the main places to be reached by the exit and its road number, followed by a flag sign at the gore detailing places and road number to be reached (in the UK, this just has the road number). On the M50, the signage was slightly different - the mini-map sign was at junctions with N-roads replaced by a Next Exit sign detailing the destinations of that N-road.

In 2005 the aforementioned new signage - Next Exit at 2km , Gantry at 1km, and Cantilever at 500m, was designed, and trialled on three schemes - the M50 South Eastern Motorway, the N2 Finglas-Ashbourne, and N7 Newlands-Naas. Next Exit signs - inspired by the M50 signs but slightly different in design- detail the road number and a number of places to be reached by that road. The Cantilever sign at 500m is a half-gantry sign which replaces the old gore sign but has the same info. The controversial part was the gantry sign. Up until then Irish gantries had looked the same as UK gantries but were only used at very major junctions. These gantries, which have now been scrapped, had seperate panels for each lane and led people to believe there was a lane drop at every junction. Which was dangerous.

So after lots of complaints about the gantry design the signage was reviewed. The Next Exit and Cantilever signs were retained, but the dodgey gantries were discontinued. Where they're already in place (as on the M50 SEM), or where gantries are appropiate to be used (as on the M50 Western Parkway), they've been replaced with another new style gantry which borrows from continental style but also is closer to the old UK format we used to use. Otherwise, the old Map ADS is again the favoured sign for use at 1km. The flag sign at the gore has been brought back but now just has the junction number and the word "exit". Its this style of signage which is now been erected on the new inter-urbans and which I believe the M1 signage is being replaced with. The M4 and M7 still have the UK-style signs though.

rcunning03

Deleted User wrote: »

I don't use that road, so only guessing/


They intend to remove the old signs after construction of the new ones are complete, it could be that the old posts are now considered unsafe/ poorly positioned.

Are the new ones a different distance from the main carriageway?

Sorry don't know if anyone said this, but when the shrubs grow up where the directional signs currently are, you can't see them. Overhead is easier and safer than trying to see a signpost behind trees and bushes

murphaph

delly wrote: »

If there is any other difference, then it has to be something less obvious such as font etc., as I sure as hell can't see it.

There's 2 things it could be that you'd miss at speed. It could be an enhanced retroreflective material with reduced halation/better dew resistance etc. and/or the posts may be replaced with a passively safe design such as Lattix.

If they are really replacing entire signfaces and/or poles just to add E01, I'd be surprised and dissappointed though you are correct...local authorities are encouraged (by government policy) to 'use up' their budget or face it being reduced next year so who knows, but such works would need sanctioning from the NRA as it's a national route.

ardmacha

They could have just added "next exit" signs and patched the exit numbers and E01. No doubt the new signs are more consistent, but there are many national roads with substantial volumes of traffic where directional signs are largely absent, perhaps these should have been a priority.

cargo

looks to have been an upgrade of the structure itself. The new poles are slightly taller and wider and the sign is a bit bigger all round. Not much of a difference but they are more noticeable. I imagine it was something to do with the poles been deemed to need an upgrade or that the larger sign was necessary and hence the stronger poles. It may have been just an upgrade to a "better" sign material as mentioned above and the decision was taken to upgrade the complete structure.

delly

Well in the boomtimes that may be acceptable, but in the current climate I would have been happy to let them be and save a €100,000 or so.